The present invention relates to the production of a mixture of olefinic products which are substantially alpha-olefins and which have a high degree of linearity. Such olefins comprise for example, those of the plasticizer range, i.e., C.sub.4 -C.sub.10, those of the detergent range, i.e., C.sub.12 -C.sub.20 and higher olefins, e.g., polyethylene. The lower molecular weight olefins can be converted to sulfonates or alcohols by known commercial processes. The C.sub.12 -C.sub.20 olefins find use in the detergent-products area. Lower molecular weight alcohols can be esterified with polyhydric acids, e.g., phthalic acid to form plasticizers for polyvinylchloride.
The use of o-dihydrocarbylphosphenobenzoic acid as a ligand to be combined with a nickel salt which product is used as an oligomerization catalyst is known in the art. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,676,523, issued July 11, 1972. The use of a dihydrocarbylphosphinophenol alcohol or lower alkyl ether rather than a dihydrocarbylphosphenobenzoic acid provides an entirely new class of ligands to be utilized with a catalyst for the oligomerization of ethylene. The phenol/ether ligand is not subject to decarboxylation during reaction processes as is the benzoic acid ligand. The phenol/ether ligand also provides a different olefin distribution than the benzoic acid ligand, thus allowing for the production of alpha-olefins having a different carbon number distribution than those produced using the benzoic acid ligand.